


Dark Lovers' Spat

by ToneofDarkness



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, ESO round 3, Enstars Shipping Olympics, M/M, devil au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 02:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20202493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToneofDarkness/pseuds/ToneofDarkness
Summary: ESO Round 3Day 3 prompt: Fight and CompromiseWhen two people close to one another only want what's best for the other, would their trust in each other weaken, given the lack of communication?What idiots they are.





	Dark Lovers' Spat

**Author's Note:**

> As much as I'd love to use honorifics in this, the setting wouldn't allow for it. I did try to preserve their speech styles as much as I can.
> 
> Believe me, not hearing Rei say 'Mikejima-kun' or Madara say 'Rei-san' is weird.

Madara didn’t think it’d get this bad.

Or rather, he did; he was simply too stubborn to admit it to Rei.

But, what was he to do? Let Rei walk into danger, right into this obvious trap? Absolutely not!

At this rate, however, he might not be able to protect his beloved from harm anymore. And, to think that the last thing he'd done to Rei, after a heated argument this morning, was to turn his back at him as he left to answer a challenge from a rival lord.

* * *

"I'm such an idiot…" Madara hissed through his gritted teeth after he’d barely dodged an incoming downward slice from the demon lord's sword. The dark knight's injured right arm, his sword arm hung uselessly at his side, forcing him to use his non-dominant hand to fight with, and to defend himself. As he blocked each attack with increasing difficulty, all he could think of was how he’d gotten himself into this trap, and how he’d get himself out of it.

Parry, parry, pain ringing through Madara’s shoulders as his injured arm was rattled, but he bit it back. _He’s much tougher than this, he’d survived worse situations before_, a thought he kept repeating in his mind like a mantra, the only thing that kept him standing on his feet.

Parry again, sidestep that nearly sent him stumbling when he felt his strength slowly ebbing away due to his wounds...It wouldn’t take long until he’d succumb to them. Becoming desperate, he made an awkwardly-aimed swing with his sword just to drive his opponent at bay. But, reality was slowly sinking in; with how he’s at a disadvantage, Madara’s chances of survival were growing thinner by each passing second.

Perhaps if he’d stayed to listen to Rei instead, if he hadn’t stormed out of the manor in a fit of frustration…

* * *

_“Madara, I won't let you go there by yourself; that letter is addressed to me...Why can you not trust me to help you?! Do you think of me as a burden?!”_

_With a question like that, it felt as though Rei had slapped him on the cheek. It felt so much like an accusation; Madara had seen the accusing look in his partner’s eyes._

_It was an awful thing to see, right after receiving a foreboding message from one of Rei's rivals. It’s obviously a trap, a fact that wasn’t even hidden behind honeyed words; it’s only fitting that the knight would respond to it in place of his lord, for his own safety, for his own protection...Right?_

_Why couldn’t Rei understand that? Everything Madara had done up to this point had always been for his sake. Couldn’t he see that?_

_“Why can’t you trust me to take care of you?” was the last thing Madara said in response as he left the manor, ignoring Rei’s voice calling him to come back. He stubbornly kept his back at Rei, leaving him behind as he went to answer their adversary’s challenge alone._

* * *

He was being taunted, jeered at for being so weak without his master. Madara, of course, had never considered Rei to be his master; Rei personally would never allow that. They are friends since childhood, the best of pals, having gone through literally Hell and beyond together. Their relationship had strengthened, and evolved with each hardship they've triumphed over.

_Did he really not trust Rei enough…?_

Why was he having such thoughts, now of all times? Ever since they were children, Madara had sworn to himself to protect Rei, to take care of him when no one else would, to be his family when Rei's own parents have sold him to the devil. He'd sworn that he'd be there for him, that he'd do anything for his sake.

* * *

_"You don't have to shoulder the burden on your own, Madara. I'm here with you." Rei had told him repeatedly in the past. Madara, however, was too stubborn, too caught up in his own guilt to notice that Rei had also wanted what's best for him._

_"I know, I know~ I'm fine, Rei!"_

_"Madara, please, listen to me...I love you; I want you to remember that always."_

_"Ahahaha~! I'm touched! I love you too, Rei, always and forever!!"_

_"I...I'm serious!"_

_"So am I~"_

_Is he now?_

* * *

"I am such an idiot…" Of course, this fight would've been easier if there were two of them, a knight fighting alongside his lord against a rival lord. It's something they have been doing together when Rei had first started out as the new devil lord of wishes; what had changed that Madara, upon his own insistence, had begun to take down Rei's enemies by himself in his stead?

Rei had protested, insisted time and time again, he'd stress that they were partners, a team, but Madara would stubbornly refuse to listen to him, much to Rei's frustration.

* * *

A powerful blow finally broke through Madara's weakened defenses, the dark knight's sword sent flying out of his trembling grip and up into the air. Madara stumbled back, and fell down as his strength left him, his sword falling to the ground far from him with a loud clatter.

He could only inch himself back as the rival lord advanced towards him, ready to claim victory over the wounded knight, when a powerful gust of wind blew past them.

It was brief, but Madara caught a glimpse of something dark wielding a sword from within that gust of wind, which then sent the enemy flying backwards and into a support pillar.

When the sword-wielding dark figure came to a stop in front of Madara, the knight's eyes went wide as saucers when he saw who his rescuer was.

"R-Rei??" Madara couldn't believe his eyes, blinking them a couple of times to be sure. Sure enough, there Rei was, standing and forming a defensive wall between his knight and his rival. "What are you doing heeere?!"

Rei wasn't too happy with what he'd seen, glaring down at the enemy in front of them, and clearly, he's not happy being questioned as though Madara didn't know the answer already.

"Saving you; _why_ else would I be here?" came Rei's sarcastic reply as he hastily conjured a wall of blue flames in front of himself, forcing his rival back. “Sit this one out; I’ll finish this.”

“Nuh-uh!” That was what Madara hated to hear coming from Rei. “No way I’m doing that! This is my fight!”

“As I recall, that letter was addressed to me.” Rei couldn’t believe that they were having this argument again, and in front of their enemy, no less. "This is _my_ fight! You've already fought enough!"

"Hey, heeey! I can still fight…!"

_"Can you really?"_ Rei hissed as he parried an incoming attack from above him with his sword, and then thrust his right leg forward to kick his rival away with his sharp heel to the gut. "Tch! You can't even stand!"

"Eerrghh...Juuust…" Madara was at a loss, but he's no intention of admitting that Rei's right; he couldn't stand up, much less stay standing for more than three seconds. "Just give me a break, and I'll break that jerk in two!"

"I _can_ give you a break, yes! What an _excellent_ suggestion!" Before Madara could even open his mouth to ask, Rei had him enveloped within a large bubble of energy with a wave of his hand. It's not only meant to serve as a protective barrier for Madara, but it's also to stop Madara's own energy, which has been pouring out of his open wounds, from dissipating into the open air. "There you go!"

Madara was aghast; Rei was using his energy to replenish what the knight had lost during the fight. Even as his wounds have begun repairing themselves, Madara was pounding his left fist against the interior of the bubble, yelling out in alarm, "Rei?! _You did not just---!!_"

"What did I do now?" Rei feigned innocence as he moved his sword to his left hand before extending his right to the side, summoning Madara's fallen sword off the ground and into his grasp. Ignoring Madara's horrified look behind him, Rei brandished both swords at his rival, intending to finish the duel with Madara's sword taking his knight's place.

* * *

_This can't be happening; this was the very thing he wanted to prevent in the first place!_

From within the safety of the bubble, Madara could only watch as Rei engaged his rival lord in a heated fight. It wasn't as though Rei was inept at fighting; Madara could personally vouch for his skill, as do their former comrades, but he was concerned for Rei's health should the duel lasted longer than it should. It might go well, if Rei hadn't conjured the protective bubble around Madara, giving himself a handicap.

Was he being punished by karma now?

"Rei, come ooon!" Madara kept on trying to break out of the bubble, which was helping him heal faster. "You can't fight that guy alone!! You shouldn't!!" However, his words fell to deaf ears, much like how he did to Rei this morning. Hence, Madara was forced to watch the duel in safety.

_If only he was stronger…_

_If only he was better..._

* * *

Indeed, Rei's fighting skills may be top-notch, but without maintaining it, it'd become stagnant. With being unable to fight his own duels lately, due to Madara doing them all in his stead, the difference between the two lords' skill levels was slowly becoming apparent.

Rei could barely keep up with his rival, and that was with him augmenting his own abilities magically. Rei had tried to hide it, but Madara could see it, and the resulting guilt ate away at the knight's core.

However, at the prospect of a possible defeat, Rei blamed himself, thinking that he wasn't good enough. Why else would Madara choose to act on his behalf without telling him?

_If only he was better…_

_If only he was stronger…_

* * *

And then the bubble burst, freeing Madara from its protection just as it'd finished healing even the worst of his wounds. With most of his strength restored, he lost no time in rushing towards the two dueling demon lords, intending to finish what he'd started.

Once he was close enough, he bent his knees, and then lunged into the air towards Rei's rival. _**"HEY, YOOOUUU!!!"**_

At the sound of Madara's signature booming voice, both demon lords looked up, distracted from their swords locked against each other...only for Rei to see the sole of Madara's boot land straight onto his rival's face with a loud '**CRACK**'.

The flying dropkick was almost comedic in its execution, but very effective in driving the rival lord away from Rei. "Madara?!"

Even without his sword, Madara was just as deadly with his bare hands, if not more. Fueled by his frustration, guilt and worry over Rei's well-being, the dark knight had turned into a flurry of punches with only one goal in mind: make Rei win.

Rei could barely see what was happening, trying to find an opening he could jump into so he could assist his knight. But, with how much Madara was hammering with his fists at the rival lord, Rei was afraid he might hurt him instead.

_Had it been too long since they've fought together?_

_**"REI!!"**_ Hearing his name called snapped Rei out of his worried thoughts, looking up just in time to see Madara lifting their dazed and beaten opponent over his head before hurling him towards Rei.

Acting upon instinct, Rei planted his feet onto the ground, raising both his arms criss-crossed in front of him, both their swords held behind him. When his rival was at the right distance, Rei pulled his crossed arms apart, the blades of both swords cutting through the rival lord's neck…

* * *

Neither of them spoke a word as Madara performed the rites prescribed for demon lords who were defeated in duels on their fallen rival. Even after Rei had absorbed the core of magical energy belonging to his rival to increase his own, they remained in awkward silence. Until…

"...You've climbed up two ranks in the hierarchy, Rei."

Rei had nothing much to say in response to Madara's remark, knowing that this was his fate as the devil lord of wishes. The same unfortunate fate could happen to him as well, if he wasn't careful.

"You've been awfully quiet."

"Mmnn."

"Are you okay---Ah, no; of course you're not."

The awkward silence reigned between them again.

Madara rubbed at the back of his head, at a loss as to what to do. They've barely just won the duel; it could've gone terribly wrong for the both of them easily. He was certain that that's what Rei was most concerned about as well. "Um...I---"

"I'm sorry."

"---Yeah, I'm sorry too---Wait, what?"

"I'm sorry," Rei repeated, his gaze cast upon the ground, "for not being strong enough to be of help to you."

"Whaaa??" What was this all of a sudden? "No. No...This...This is my fault." It was painful to admit for Madara, but his partner being miserable was even more painful to watch. "I should've listened to you." Then perhaps neither of them would be feeling this guilty.

The urge to say that '_yes, you should've listened_' was rising, but Rei bit back that comment. How could he be critical of the other when he also has his own faults?

Madara, thinking that Rei had merely become shaken from their ordeal, reached over to hold him in a one-armed hug, murmuring soothing words to his partner.

But, that wasn't the case; Rei knew that they both have a problem that needed to be resolved. "Madara?"

"Yes…?"

"Let's return home. We...have much to talk about."

Having an inkling as to what it could be, Madara swallowed the invisible lump that had formed in his throat, before making the tiniest of nods. "Yes...Yes, of course we do."

_ **\---FIN---** _


End file.
